Samuel darling



giants @anni @Hirn SAMUEL DARL1NG,0F BANGOR.; MAINE.

Letters .Patent No. 68,588, dated September 8, 1867. I

INKSTAN D.

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` 'IO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL DARLING, of-Bangor, in the county of Penobscot, and State of Maine, have invent-ed certain new and useful improvements in Inkstands, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had te the accompanying drawings, making part of this specioation, in which- Figure 1 represents a view -in perspective of an inlcstlnd embracing my improvements.

Figure 2 represents a vertical section through the middle ofthe seme, with a pen inserted.

Figure 3 represents a perspective view o f the reservoir, with the follower removed.

Figure 4 reprcsents the under sid'e of the follower. A

Figure 5 represents a vertical section through .the middle of the stand' when the follower is nt its lowest position, and the ink too low for use, with a pen inserted.

Figure 6 represents a perspective'view of the. cover.

There are three important qualities that should be combined in every lnkstand. The rst isa form that can be conveniently supplied with ink, und'cleanscd when it becomes foul; another is to expose ne more ink to the deleterious action of the open atmosphere than is necessary for thc'insertion of the pen; and the third is to have a gauge that will practically insure a uniform supply of ink to the pen.

-In nearly all ofthe stands heretofore made there is a large surface of ink exposed to the open air, by which it isf evaporated rapidly, and otherwise injured. Donbtless there is more in'k lost in that way than there l is used in writing, and in the great variety lof inkstands iti use there are none, except one, which is not adapted to general use, that have a reliable gauge to regulate theV depthof dipfand lwriters have to use too much care in supplying their penswith ink,'or resort to the common but disagreeable practice of throwing oil` the surplus ink, which wastes more than is used, and defaccs whatever it may fall upon. My improved inkstand diers from all others in having` a broad open reservoir,and a concave follower that can be readily adjusted to any depth of in k in theireservoir; and this follower is so constructed that when in the proper position relative vto the'ink,it protects it fromv the action of the open atmosphere, and makes a perfect gauge to regulate the supply of ink to the pen, while the ink practically remains at its natural level.

The stand, or at least these portions of it that come in contact with the duid, may be made of any suitable -i material which does not have an injurious edeet upon ink. Glass is one of tho best Imaterials, and probably the cheapest to manufacture this stand of.

The cavity A, g. 3, forms the ink reservoir, which is depressed in the centre, as shown at B, iig. 2, to clear the point of the pen when the follower F is at its lowest position, and to serve as a receptacle for any deposit that may take place from the ink. I make the pen'gauge E, figs. 2 and 5, a little smaller at the lower end than a pen, in order that such portion only of the nih of the pen as is desirable shall be permitted to pass beyond the lowest point of the gauge; this enables the writer to regulate the supply of ink to his pen with facility and accuracy, by lowering or raising the follower F, which contains the pen-gauge E.

I make the reservoir A quite large, say from three to four inches in diameter, for the following purposes: first, runt the ink may be used a sutcient length of time without the need of adjusting the pon-gauge and secondly,

that the upper portion of the follower may be lowered to carry the pen-gauge down sudeiently to enter the ink it a proper depth, whatever theexisting supply may be, without ever bringing the screw in contact-with the ink, and at the same time have thetop of the gauge-cup irifplain sight of the writer when the stand is used on high desks, and without having te make the gaugecup too deep for convenience. The concave follower F may be held in position in'the reservoir A, and raised and'lowcred by means of a screw or its equivalent, or by being inserted in a tight packing, or otherwise, so as to'admit of n gradual lowering or raising at will. It is cheaper to make the sorew-nut N, which is on the inside of the reservoir, of soft metal, and to attach it to the glass by means of plaster of Paris, cement, or-nny of theknown methods of doing such work, than it is to vmake it' in the glass. f. v

t Lead and antimeny make a very goed composition for such a screw, when ten parts of lead to one of anti mony are used. The screw on the follower may be easily made in the glass. I extend the pen-gauge E below the screw S, te prevent the screw or other parts of the follower from coming in contact with the ink.

' A venthole, 0, is made in the follower, that the ink in the reservoir may always stand practically at its natural level. Without a vent, the air contained between the follower and the ink would operate the same as'a 2 casas Vsolid plunger, and force the ink up intoithe gauge-cup E, above the level cf theink in the reservoir, which would be contrary to the principle upon which this inkstand is to operate, which principle is, that the follower F, which contains the pen-gauge E, is to be so arranged as to follow the ink inits descent by, use, without coming in contact therewith, or practically raising it above its natural level. I

The area ofthe ink-fountain A is so large that when the ink stands at its natural level, it is lowered ver) slowly by common-writing, and but a verysmall surface of ink in-.the gauge-cup is exposed to the action of the open atmosphere; but when, as iii so'me ink-stands of different construction, the ink in the gaugeeoup is forcibly raised above tho level of the ink in the fountain, the writer is in such case obliged to adjust the gauge-cup very frequently, or raise the ink higher in the cup, because the drain or consumption of ink is then entirely from the small quantity only .which is contained within the cup, and not, as in my inkstand, from the whole contents of the reservoir; and when the ink is thus raised in the cup a larger surface than necessary is liable to evaporation by exposure to`the air; the pen would dip too deep, and' the valuable results flowing from my peculiar. construction eould'rnot be attained. i v

The vent O vnia-y be made qutcsmall; one-twentieth of an inch in diameter is sudieiently large.- '.lo prevent ink or lother liquids from being held in the vent-hole by capillary attraction, I make the part through which it passes very thin, by countersinking the under side.v When the vent is of the size above described, lthe evapo- "ration of the ink through it is not sufeient to injure the ink to any perceptible degree for a long time.

I make a circular rib at the top of the gauge-cup, as shown at K, first, for the purpose of making .the cup more easily seen by the writer, secondly, for the purpose of preventing the'dust that gathers upon' the upper concave surface ofthe follower from sliding into the gauge-cup; andthirdly; for holding the invertedbsaueerf shaped cover C, fig. 1, when removed from the gauge-cup, as shown at H.

By means of rib K, 'and the dishing l,upper surface of the follower F, shown at D, figs. 1, 2, and 5, the cover canbe opened with great convenience,when the pen is taken up, by a light touch of the pen upon it or its centre knob, and closed with a 'lighttouch of the pen-holder or hand when the pen is laid down upon the stand. The gravitation ofthe cover C, when thus relieved from lits detention by the rib, causing it to settle ltowards the centre of the dish, to rise over one side of the rib, and be by it so guided and restrained as to assume with unerring eertaintya-central position, and so cover `the opening. Thereare other modes of operating the cover with the pen-holder, when it is taken up and laid down, one of which' is to provide the cover with upright pieces, between which the pen-holder may be laid, and the cover moved either way by side motion of the hand,

when the pen is laid down and when it is taken up but I do not consider this so practical as the former'.

The cover may be made of any suitable material. Thev reservoir may be supplied with ink through thc y gnugeseu'p E, or by removing the follower, and pour-ingit directly into it.

To prevent the plaster of Paris or other material with which the nut N is fastened into the reservoir from showing through the glass, I color or paint, in' any desirable color, an opaque belt or ring upon the inner sur,- face of the reservoirfas shown at P, figs. 1 and 3, and then burn the same in upon, the glass, in any of the modeswell known to glass manufacturers. The nut Nheingnow inserted, this belt not only prevents the material which fastens the nutvfrom injuring the appearanceof, hut becomes itself an ornament to the stand.

I do not claim an inkstand having a central dipping-cup in a followerl that is capable of being lowered as the i-nk is used, when said follower acts as aiplunger, by forcing the ink up into the cup above the level of the ink in the reservoir, andiwhen the ink-fountain has no recess at the bottom, substantially like the one in mine, and for the purpose herein set'forth neither do Iclaim broadly the invention of 'a pen-gauge and recess under it, for. that I have secured in a former patent, buty Iclaim an ink reservoir, havinga central recess or depression, in -combination with a follower, having a gauge-cup projecting so much below the body of the follower as to admit of being inserted sutliciently into the ink, whilst the body of the follower is always above the ink. I

I also claim the rib K, as arranged in cavity D, incombinati'on withv the cover C, substantially'as and for the purposes deseribed I also claimj the opaque belt or band on the interior 'of the reservoir, in cmbination with the plaster of Paris or its equivalent, as and for the purposes specied.

SAMUEL DARLING.

Witnessesz JOHN E. HALL, A. W. PAINE. 

